Memory Flashcards
Short term memory - capacity ?
5-9 items
Evidence backing up short term memory capacity?
Miller meta analysis of serial recall tests of digit span, participants asked to recall string of digits/ letters and couldn’t remember after 9, found chunking could increase capacity.
Short term memory - duration ?
18 - 30 seconds
Short term memory - coding?
Acoustic
Long term memory - capacity ?
Potentially infinite
Long term memory - duration ?
Lifetime, however the is some decay
Long term memory - coding ?
Semantic
Baddeley ?
some participants a list of acoustically-similar words and tested them immediately. Others were tested after a 20- minute delay. More errors were made when tested immediately. This was due to confusion.
Some participants were asked to recall semanticaly-similar words immediately, some after a delay. More confusion after a delay.
Confusion is caused because participants are only focusing on sound in STM and meaning in LTM.
What are the two theory’s for memory?
Multi store model of memory
And the working memory model
Who came up with the multi store model of memory ?
Richard Atkinson and Richard shiffrin
What does the multi store model consist of ?
It consists of three memory stores linked to each other by the processes that enable transfer of information from one store to the next
Multi store model - what Are the three stores ?
. Sensory memory
. Short term memory
. Long term memory
MSM - what is the sensory memory/register?
The sensory register/ memory is triggered by an environmental stimulus, it is the place where information is held at each of the senses e.g eyes ears tongue fingers. And the corresponding areas of the brain. The capacity of these registers are very large, they are constantly receiving information however most receives no attention so it is registered for a very brief duration like a millisecond
MSM - what is attention?
If a persons attention is focused on one of the sensory stores to long the data is then transferred to the stm, attention is the first step in remembering something
MSM - what is the short term memory ?
Short term memory has a very limited duration, information is held in stm so can be used for immediate tasks such as working on maths problem or remembering directions to a friend’s house, the stm is in a fragile state and information will decay very quickly if it isn’t rehearsed, this practice of rehearsing it is called maintenance rehearsal, stm has. Very limited capacity so important information needs to be moved to the Lomg term memory
MSM - what is maintenance rehearsal?
Repetition keep’s information in the stm but eventually such repetition will create a long term memory Atkinson and shiffrin proposed a direct relationship beetween rehearsal in STM and the strength of the LTM the more the information is rehearsed the better it is remembered this is called maintenance rehearsal
MSM - long term memory?
Long term memory is potentially unlimited in duration and capacity, and once information is there it can’t really be forgotten , but in order for it to always be remembered on demand something called rehearsal is nessacry
MSM - what is retrieval ?
The process of getting information from the long term memory involves the information passing back though the short term memory then it will be available for use
Multi store model - strengths +
+ the is evidence for separate stores
+ influential in developing memory research, leading to improved models such as WMM
MSM - evidence FOR separate stores ?
• Evidence from capacity, duration and coding to
support existence of separate stores (Miller,
Peterson & Peterson, Bahrick, Baddeley etc.)
• Clive Wearing could make new STMs but not
new LTMs
• Glanzer & Cunitz – people recall words at the
start and end of lists. Start because they are rehearsed to LTM, end because they are still in STM.
Multi store model - weaknesses
- evidence for more stores
- Reductionist as it seems to suggest that human memory consists of only three individual stores. Human memory is more complex.
MSM - evidence for more stores ?
• Patient KF damaged his verbal STM capacity
but not his visual STM
• Patient HM could make new procedural LTM
but not explicit or semantic LTM
Who came up the the working memory model ?
Alan baddley and hitch 1974
Reasons for making the working memory model?
. Baddley and hitch felt that the STM was not just one store but a number of different stores.
What does the wmw consist of ?
Central executive
Episodic buffer
Phonological loop (includes articulatory loop and phonological store
Visuospatial sketchpad (includes inner scribe and visual cache)
Long term memory
What is the central executive?
In the working memory model the central executive Receives environmental stimuli and passes it to the appropriate store, it moters and coordinates all other metal functions
What is the episodic buffer ?
Added later. General store and helps to make sense and combine info, recives imput from many sources then intergrates it to construct a metal episode of what is being experienced
Visosspatial sketchpad
Processes visual and spatial information. Holds an image in our mind and the layout of the room.
Visual cache ?
Part of e the visuospatical sketch pad ,store’s information about visual items e.g like colour
Inner scribe ?
Part of the visiospaical sketchpad - an inner scribe stores the arrangement of objects in a visual Field , so remembering what a room looks like
Phonological loop
Processes sound information. Repeats it several times and sends it on.
Phonological store ?
Part of the phonological loop - it holds the words you hear kind of like an inner ear
articulatory loop?
Part of the phonological loop - used for word that are heard or see these words are silently repeated or looped like an inner voice this is a form of manitance rehearsal
Wmw - long term memory?
Same as it is the multi store model it’s an infinite store, for a lifetime
Evaluation of working memory model- pros ?
+ evidence for separate stores supports the wmw
+ Includes active processing unlike passive MSM Acknowledges that memory works actively, rather than acting only as a store – e.g. schema
Evidence for separate stores - wmw ?
• Evidence from capacity, duration and coding to
support existence of separate stores (Miller,
Peterson & Peterson, Bahrick, Baddeley etc.)
• Clive Wearing could make new STMs but not
new LTMs
• Glanzer & Cunitz – people recall words at the
start and end of lists. Start because they are rehearsed to LTM, end because they are still in STM.
Evaluation of working memory model- cons ?
- Reductionist as it seems to suggest that human memory consists of only five individual stores. Human memory is more complex.
- Evidence for more stores
Working memory model- it’s wrong become the is evidence for more stores what is thus evidence?
• Patient HM could make new procedural LTM
but not explicit or semantic LTM
What are the three types of long term memory?
Episodic
Semantic
Procedural
LTM - what is episodic memory ?
Personal memory’s of events from your life this kind of memory includes contextual details plus an emotional tone
LTM - what is procedural memory ?
Procedural memory is the memory of how to do things for example driving or riding a bike procedural memory. Such memory’s are automatic as a result of repeated practice.
LTM - what is semantic memory ?
Memory of the meaning of things as well as facts and knowledge this memories may be concrete e.g knowing the capital city’s of country’s or that ice is made of water or they might be abstract such as mathematical memories.
LTM- Why are episodic and semantic memories known as explicit ?
Because we usually have to think about them and can describe them
LTM - why are procedural memories known as implicit ?
Because they are automatic we don’t need to be able to explain how to kick a football in order to kick a football well
Evaluation LTM - what is the evidence FOR these types of memory.
. HM – could make new procedural LTM but not episodic or semantic, suggesting that they are separate stores
Brain scanning evidence – Episodic stored in the hippocampus and frontal lobe; Semantic also in the temporal lobe; Procedural also requires the cerebellum and motor cortex
Irish et al. showed that some Alzheimer’s patients can lack semantic but not episodic, whilst others can lack episodic but not semantic – suggesting separate stores
Evaluation LTM - what is the evidence AGAINST these types of memory.
Over-reliance on brain damage patients. Just because you lose a part of your brain and also lose a specific function, it doesn’t mean this area was exclusively used for that function.
Priming may be a 4th type of LTM – this is where you are ‘programmed’ to think in a certain way (for example, through advertising or violent media). Your thinking can be affected without your explicit knowledge, so this suggests there is a second type of implicit memory
What are the two explanations for forgetting ?
. Interference theory
. Retrieval failure
What is interference ?
It is an explanation for forgetting in terms of one memory disrupting the ability to recall another this is most likely to occur when the two memory’s have some similarity
What is proactive interference ?
Past learning interferes with current attempt to learn something. When past memories affect the new ones trying to be made
What is retroactive interference ?
Current attempts to learn something interfere with past learning , so the new memories being made are affecting the past memories
Evaluation - Interference theory resherch support FOR .
Underwood –(supports Proactive because the early lists made it hard to recall the later ones)
Muller & Pilzecker –(supports Retroactive because the distraction task affected their ability to recall the syllables)
Evaluation - Interference theory AGAINST .
Resherch is artificial
Memories are not nessaarly lost
And the are many individual differences
Kane & Engle (2000) found that participants with better working memory spans were less influenced by Proactive
Explanations for forgetting - what is retrieval failure ?
Occurs in the absence of cues an explanation for forgetting based on the idea that the issues relates to not being able to retrieve a memory that is available but not accessible we need cues to help us access memory’s.
What are cues ?
This are things that serve as a reminder, they may meaningfully link to the material to be remembered or may not be meaningfully linked.
What is the encoding specificity principle?
information present at learning should be present at recall to aid memory, however doesn’t have to be exactly right but the closer the cue is to the original item more usful it will be
What is context dependent forgetting ?
where we are can act as a cue. If you learn something in one place, we are more likely to forget if we try to recall it in another place.
What is state dependent forgetting ?
where we are can act as a cue. If you learn something in one place, we are more likely to forget if we try to recall it in another place.
Evaluation- Explanations for forgetting retrieval failure FOR ?
Research support
Godden & Baddeley – participants learnt word lists on land or underwater (scuba). They were then tested either on land or underwater. Their recall was worse if tested in a different place to where they learnt the words, supporting Context- dependent forgetting.
Goodwin – participants learnt word lists whilst sober or drunk. They were then tested either when sober or drunk. Their recall was worse if in a different state than at learning, supporting State-dependent forgetting.
Evaluation- Explanations for forgetting retrieval failure AGAINST ?
Retrieval cues don’t always work – and even if recall is improved, we cannot be certain it was caused by the cue Because there are so many different cues always present, For example, the room you are in or your sobriety may be a cue – but there are also dozens of extra little cues when you are learning (your mood, the instructor, who you are sat next to, the weather outside, It is impossible to know which cues were coded along with the information
What is eyewitness testimony?
The evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime with a view to identifying the perpetrators of the crime
What is a leading question ?
A question that either by its form or content suggests to the whiteness what answer is desired or leads him or her to the described questions
What is misleading information ?
Supplying information that may lead a witnesses memory for a crime to be altered
What is post event discussion?
A conversation between co witnesses or an interviewer and an eyewitness after a crime has taken place this many contaminant a witnesses memory of the event
Aim of loftus and palmer ?
Aim – to see if a witness’ memory of an event can be influenced by leading questions
Sample of loftus and palmer ?
45 students
Method of loftus and palmer ?
Participants shown 7 different video clips of car crashes. Each time they were asked to estimate the car’s speed. Split into five groups, each with a slightly different critical question: ‘How fast were the cars going when they …. ( insert verb) each other?’
What where the 5 verbs loftus and palmer used ?
- Hit
- Bumped
- Collided
- Contacted
- Smashed
Findings of loftus and palmer ?
Smashed = 41 mph speed estimate
Collided = 39 mph speed estimate
Bumped = 38 mph speed estimate
Hit = 34 mph speed estimate
Contacted = 32 mph speed estimate
Conclusion of loftus and palmer ?
witness’ memory can be influenced by leading questions as with a verb like smashed the average speed estimate was 41 mph and and contacted it was only 32 mph speed estimate
Evaluation of loftus and palmer - pros +
+ Lab study so high in reliability and control
+ Clear demonstration of cause and effect between leading questions and memory change
Evaluation of loftus and palmer - cons -
- Lacks ecological validity – Yuille & Cutshall
found leading questions had no effect on
witnesses to a real armed robbery - Results could be caused by ‘response bias’ –
they don’t remember the speed but ‘smashed’ was a clue that it was fast
What does anxiety have to do with the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony ?
Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state that is often accompanied with increased heart rate and stress when a person experiences a crime they go though anxiety and stress this may have a negative effect of accuracy
Anxiety and the negative effects of accuracy ?
Anxiety and stress have a negative effect on memory as well as performance generally automatic skills like memory are not effected stress however performance of completed cognitive tasks is reduced
What is the weapon focus effect ?
Weapon focus is the view that a weapon in a criminals hand distracts attention because of the anxiety it creates therefore reduces accuracy of identification
Key study for anxiety and eyewitness testimony?
Johnson and Scott 1976
Johnson and Scott aim ?
To test whether or not anxiety can affect the accuracy of eye- witness testimony
Procedure of Johnson and Scott ?
Johnson & Scott asked participants to sit in a waiting room before taking part in an experiment.
1) No-weapon group - overheard a conversation next door before an individual left the room carrying a pen, with his hands covered in grease.
2) Weapon group – they overheard a heated exchange next door with the sound of breaking glass and chairs crashing before an individual ran from the room carrying a knife with his hands covered in blood. Participants were then shown 50 photographs of different men, from which they were asked to pick the correct person.
Results of Johnson and Scott ?
49% of no-weapon group could correctly identify him, compared to only 33% of the weapon group
Conclusion of Johnson and Scott ?
Anxiety has a negative effect on eyewitness recall - perhaps only because of the weapon focuses was the weapon groups anxiety higher
Evaluation of Johnson and Scott ?
PRO
+ Highly controlled and reliable – lab study so fewer extraneous variables (e.g. the actor holding the pen/knife)
+ Quantitative data – not reliant on the accuracy of their description. Instead a yes/no answer. More objective and no interpretation needed.
Evaluation of Johnson and Scott ?
CON
- Lacks ecological validity – they knew that their answers would not actually lead to a conviction of a real person, unlike in a real witness case
- Contradictory evidence – Christianson & Hubinette found that witnesses to real bank robberies had better recall if they were more at risk (opposite of Johnson & Scott’s findings)
What is a cognitive interview?
A police technique for interviewing witnesses to a crime which encourages them to recreate the original context of the crime in order to increase the accessibility of stored information
What are the four steps of a cognitive interview ?
Mental reinstatement of context
Report everything
Change perspective
Change order
What Mental reinstatement of context ?
witness is encouraged to put themselves back into the same state of mind and to think of context cues. For instance, asked if they were angry or happy before the event, in case this cues any extra recall.
What is the report everything part of the contrive interview ?
witness asked to recall the entire event from start to finish, including anything they might consider insignificant
What is the change perspective part of the contrive interview ?
participant is asked to recall the events from a different witness’ perspective, in order to give a three- dimensional view of the event
What is the change order part of the contrive interview ?
asked to recall events in reverse order, as this helps to avoid the use of schema to assume certain events happened even when they didn’t.
Evaluation of cognitive interview ?
Pro
+ Kohnken found that use of the CI improved recall accuracy by 34%
+ Kohnken found an 81% increase of correct information, and a 61% increase of incorrect information when using the CI.
This technique might increase the quantity of information givin
Evaluation of cognitive interview ?
Con
. Quantity of quality
- The CI may require special training, not to
mention lots of time to carry out
- Training in the use of CI is very costly, and it is
very likely that different people will interpret the techniques in different ways
Example of research into effect of post event discussion in the accuracy of EWT ?
Gabbert
Procedure of gabbert ?
They were asked to watch a video of a girl walking into a university office and then each participant was shown one of two videos of the same event from different angle in the first condition the participants answered questions independently and then in the second condition was a co whiteness condition and discussed with another person both has seen video from different angle
Findings of gabbert ?
In condition 2 the co witness condition 71% of participants reported seeing things they couldn’t of seen
60% said she committed a crime aka stole a £10 note when this wasn’t in their video
Conclusion of gabbert ?
Post event discussion could contaminate each others recall of the event and could lead to false memory’s.
